A Shark and His Bait
by xXUsEdXx
Summary: She was a handful, but he wouldn't change anything about her. RinxOC
1. After Practice

_I've decided to write a bitty book of oneshots with Rin and my OC Ari. I had this floating in my head for a bit and decided to write it just because. And besides, I love my sharkie, he's so adorkable._

* * *

If Rin could count on one hand how many times Ari had come to see him at practice, he would need more fingers. Attending a girls' school that—in a way—served as a midway point to Iwatobi and Samezuka, he didn't realize bumping into her would get them this far.

Ari was the third in a trio of girls; her and her best friends Naia and Tsuki. All three knew his friends at Iwatobi first, with irrepressible Naia having an outspoken crush on Makoto. By the time Rin finally met the girls, Gou had gone to fetch him. "Why the hell did you come to get me, Gou?" he remembered asking his younger sister as she had tugged him along the way—and smacked dab into a smaller body.

Rin's eyes had widen at the sight of his friends, Nagisa flailing in concern, as Naia had her arms steadying the petite girl who was brushing her long bangs from her eyes. "Shoot, my hairclip fell out," she had muttered, shoving the thin, sakura-shaped hairclip back into her hair and securing her long bangs back into place. Gou had lost it, pleading for Rin to apologize to her.

That was when wide, hazel eyes were in his face and thin index fingers were stretching his mouth open to peer at his teeth.

"A-Ari!" Makoto had called her girl's name, the paternal nature in the gentle giant rearing its head right as Tsuki flailed with a particularly loud, "Oh my God, Ari, that's rude!"

Voice muffled due to fingers being in his mouth, Rin had asked, "What are you doing?"

"How were you born with these teeth? How does your sister not have these? What sorcery is this?" Ari had given Gou a look of pure determination, removing her fingers from Rin's mouth before announcing, "Gou Matsuoka, you have some explaining to do!"

Rin hadn't known just being around Ari was a challenge on itself, but that didn't stop him from pursuing her. Ari was the youngest of her friends, was often outspoken when necessary, and had a deep love for writing. She was always working on some project that she always kept in a binder that she absolutely let no one near until it was complete. She was a hopeless romantic, her easygoing temperament compared to his sometimes-thorny one making even his friends encourage the two to get to know each other. Even now, Rin had thought about it as he toweled himself off, water dripping from his hair and Ari had bounced down from the bleachers, her bag banging on her hip. She smiled at the maroon-haired swimmer when she reached him and Rin couldn't help himself. He reached out to tousle her hair, which had been long when they met and was cut short, the curls framing her face. "Enjoyed the view?" he asked.

Ari smiled, pushing a few curls from her face. "Of course. I came as soon as school let out. Are you hungry or anything?"

"I was just going to ask you that." Rin flicked at her forehead. "Just let me shower really quick, then we can go."

"Aye, _mon ami~_ " She laughed, giving him a mock salute before skipping out to the hall. Shaking his head, Rin headed for the showers, not wanting to keep her waiting for even a second. When stepped into the stall, turning on the hot water to cleanse the chlorine off of him, he let his mind wander just a bit. Ever since he and Ari had started dating, Gou had constantly checked in on him with warnings of "Don't screw this up, oniisan!" Rin knew what screwing up would do. Naia and Tsuki had made it very clear they would crucify him if Ari shed a single tear because he hurt her. "But no pressure," Naia had added, with a dismissive wave of her hand.

With a sigh, he showered.

* * *

After saying his goodbyes, Rin walked into the hallway, where Ari was standing against the wall. She had a book open and was oblivious to the world. He found it a little cute. Walking to her, Rin planted his hand on top of her head, earning a surprised squeak from Ari as she looked up at him. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"I should be asking you that. What were you reading?" Rin asked as Ari closed her book and slipped it back into her bag. "Just some cheesy romance novel I borrowed from the library," she answered with a shrug.

"You're a sap for all the romance novel stuff, aren't you?" Rin began to walk toward the exit and Ari began to skip to keep up with his stride. She shrugged again, a light blush tinting her cheeks. That was all the answer Rin needed. Once they stepped outside, he reached for her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. She looked up at him, her hazel eyes as wide as the day he first saw them—only for a different reason. It was curiosity of a different kind. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing." Rin shook his head with a soft smile as he lead the way, guiding Ari along toward a café that was just ways from Samezuka. He caught her blush darkening just slightly and his smile widened just a bit. He tugged her close to him, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Rin? You've never been this openly affectionate since our first date to the field." Ari narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion, yet her blushing cheeks ruined the effect of her looking stern. Chuckling, Rin drew her to him and nipped at her cheek, leaving a light bite mark. She whined a bit, pouting at him. "What was that for?"

"No reason. Just wanted to. Now come on. You're hungry, aren't you?"

"Yep!"

He shook his head again. Ari could be a handful, but Rin knew that he wouldn't change a thing about her.


	2. Impulsive Shark

_I should have warned that these oneshots won't be in chronological order. Oopsies. This one I made out of sheer fluff boredom. Enjoy~_

"You're quiet."

Ari looked up to Rin from where she resided on his bed, her dark eyes meeting his crimson ones. Rin's lips were turned down in a frown, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Was I not supposed to be?" Ari asked, lowering the pencil in her hand. She had been drafting ideas for a short story for weeks and while Rin never minded his little bait doing what she loved, she never remained so single-minded and not speak to him for nearly two hours. "You know I have to work on this or I'll have writer's block forever."

"Yeah, but if you're gonna be all quiet on me, I'll think you're mad." Rin wrapped an arm loosely around Ari's waist, gently tugging her closer to him. "I like hearing you talk about your story ideas."

"If this is your plan to get some, it's not going to work," Ari deadpanned, blowing strands of her long bangs from her left eye as though emphasizing the point.

Sometimes when weird things like that came out of her mouth, Rin found himself mortified at Naia's influence on her vocabulary (even though Ari was already loaded with vocabulary no sane person could stomach) with completely flushed cheeks. Other times, they would just crack him up. Like right now.

Rin felt his lips crack into a grin before laughter escaped him. Ari pouted, which only made him laugh harder. He couldn't help it; her exasperated expression, her quick ways with words, roused such laughter from him that his face hurt.

"What is the matter with you?" she asked, crossing her arms. When Rin managed to regain control of his laughter, he smirked at her. "You're what's the matter with me," he answered. "Sometimes you say stuff that just downright makes me laugh."

"I'm a comic genious," sighed Ari dryly as she gently shoved at Rin. Smirk deepening, Rin tugged her to him as he fell onto his back and chuckled when she gasped in surprise.

"Yeah you are. But I love you all the same." He nipped at her cheek playfully, feeling Ari's cheek flare beneath his lips. Where Ari could unintentionally make him blush, Rin had his own ace to make her blush and he made damn sure to use it.

"Rin." Ari pouted again, looking at him with wide eyes, her lower lip poking out and it caused Rin to nip at her cheek more. "Rin, I have to finish the draft," she whined half-heartedly, trying to free herself from his grip. Rin kept a tight grip on her, smirking at her. "Finish it later."

Ari blinked before sighing heavily. "Whatever am I going to do with you?"

"I'll tell you what. When I become an Olympic swimmer and you a famous author, you can marry me."

"...Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Rin Matsuoka, don't tell me after six months of dating, you're thinking of marriage."

"Ari Sanada, I am thinking marriage after six months. What do you think?"

"That you are impulsive." Ari deadpanned once more that Rin had to laugh.

"That'd be a good plot for your memoir, talking about your husband's impulsive mindset on getting his high school girlfriend to marry him," he told her. The sudden surprise that overcame her gave Rin a certain flare of pride.

"...Oh my God, you're right," she muttered.

"Aren't I always?" he teased.

"You better have an extremely impulsive proposal in mind." She smiled and gave him a quick peck on his lips. Rin smiled back before he returned her kiss with a much deeper one of his own.

"Not going to spoil it, sharkbait. You're just going to have to wait and see."


	3. Jealous

His nerves were grinding his insides into mush. His fingers curled and uncurled, unsure of whether he wanted to punch his longtime friend or just take a deep breath and not jump to conclusions.

Rin knew what jealousy was in abstract, but never had he endured the flames like this before. The intensity of the feeling alone gave him the feeling of exploding.

Visiting at practice as often as she does, Ari had gotten quite comfortable with Nitori and Sousuke, enough so that Nitori was able to greet her without stammering and Sousuke was ruffling her hair as if she were a child. Sousuke's actions caught Rin's attention immediately. It was one thing for Rin to tousle his girlfriend's hair; it was far another matter when someone else did it. Biting back words, Rin returned his attention toward practice.

* * *

"You guys have your styles down." Ari smiled as she skipped to Rin's side as soon as practice was over. The red-eyed male sighed heavily as he planted a hand on Ari's shoulder. "What did I tell you about running in here? The floor gets slippery, you know," he chided. Ari's hazel eyes narrowed slightly as she pouted. "I've yet to slip into the ball with five pounds of books, Rin-chan."

"Rin-senpai?" Nitori raised an eyebrow at the feminine honorific Ari used for her boyfriend.

"Don't go thinking you can get away with calling him that," Sousuke told the silver-haired male. "That's reserved for his bait when she gets irate."

Rin flushed, averting his gaze from the two. He glanced back as Ari flailed at the raven-haired swimmer, her arms dangerously close to smacking Sousuke in the face. "Sou-chan! Don't go embarrassing him like that!"

Laughing—as well as using his height to his advantage—Sousuke reached over to tousle Ari's hair, much to the girl's chagrin as she whined. Rin was barely aware of wrapping an arm around Ari, jerking her out of Sousuke's reach, and growling deep from his throat.

"S-Senpai?" Nitori asked cautiously, completely unaware of why Rin reacted in such a way. Sousuke's eyes widened only slightly before a knowing smile curved his lips. "Let's leave these two alone," he said, turning around and walking toward the showers. Nitori looked between Rin and Ari, hesitated, before sighing and heading for the showers as well. "See you later!"

"Rin?" Ari's voice was soft and Rin looked down at her, crimson eyes clashing with hazel. "Are you okay? You've never been that way to Sou-chan around me."

" _Sou-chan?"_ Rin growled and Ari flinched just slightly—to which a fresh bloom of guilt burst inside of him. She sounded genuinely, completely concerned—as if getting her hair tousled was the norm (and it sort of was) and that it wasn't something to lose face over. Heat rose to his cheeks faintly. She was right; he and Sousuke understood each other implicitly and not once had Rin reacted that way with Sousuke. Yet at the same time, Rin had never dated anyone before Ari. He sighed heavily, removing his arm from Ari. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, taking his hand gently into both of hers. Another, more irritated sigh passed through Rin's lips as he blurted the first thing his mind could come up with. "I don't like it how you let Sousuke do that to your hair."

She blinked. "…Huh?"

Rin dragged a hand down his face, the heat in his cheeks even more pronounced. "You let him ruffle your hair like I do. I don't like it. Only I should do that."

A few seconds passed before a sly smile graced Ari's lips. "Rin, are you _jealous_?"

Now his blush was in full force. "O-Of course I'm not! I'm just saying that I'm your boyfriend. You shouldn't let guys get that cozy toward you with me around!"

A laugh escaped her, high and full in that way he loved, as she shook her head. "Rin, Sou-chan and I are, like, practically siblings! He even tells me things about you that you haven't told me!"

Oh, he was going to get Sousuke back later. "So…nothing is going on? You're not interested in him like that?"

"You silly shark. How can I ever look at another man when my eyes are only focused on you?"

Rin could only blink as Ari's words slowly sunk in. He clicked his tongue, running a and through his hair, irritated with himself. "Argh…damn it. I made a complete ass of myself."

Ari giggled before she gently placed her hand on Rin's shoulder. Pushing herself to stand on tiptoe, she pressed her lips to Rin's in a chaste kiss before she pulled away. "I think it's cute. But next time, don't be so mean to your friend."

Wrapping an arm around her, Rin returned her kiss with one of his own, a bit deeper to be considered innocent. "I can't promise I won't be hellish sometimes. I'm just not…I haven't gotten used to the fact that I have you," he mumbled.

Ari blushed faintly. "Y-You dummy."

He grinned and released her. "You romantic. I'll take a quick shower and then we can go do whatever you want."

"I'm holding you up on that!" she called to him as he walked to the showers. Rin could only shake his head. She was his, but that wouldn't stop him from getting jealous if anyone showed an interest in taking his shark bait. It wouldn't even stop him from fighting for her.


	4. MEMORY

_This one is kind of sad, kind of tender at the same time._

* * *

Rin had called Ari at least thirty times today, but each time, it went straight to voicemail. He frowned, hanging up instead of leaving another message. He didn't want to scare her off by being clingy or hysterical. He wandered around Iwatobi, knowing that if she were out and about, she would hang out with Tsuki, Naia, Gou and the others. It was typical behavior of her to do so, but it had been two months since they started dating; Ari was mostly with him if anything and she always picked up her phone. Worry began to seep into his bones and Rin couldn't help but feel just a bit frantic. If Ari was hurt and he didn't know…

"Rin?" A familiar voice chirped in surprise and the maroon-haired swimmer turned around to see Tsuki and Naia, Ari's two best friends—surprisingly, they were without Ari. Rin exhaled a short breath, rubbing the back of his head.

"Looking for Ari?" asked Naia without even his prompting, her light brown eyes surveying the look on his face. Sighing, Rin nodded. "She's not picking up her phone."

Tsuki and Naia exchanged a look and Rin was no fool; they knew something. "Rin," Tsuki murmured, "come into the café with us. We have something to tell you."

Rin's stomach squirmed, twisting on itself as he followed the girls into the café nearby. They walked toward a booth in the back, Naia and Tsuki occupying one side and Rin sitting on the other side. "Ari's not going to like that we're telling him this, Tsuki," Naia muttered, drumming her fingers against the table.

"He deserves to know." Tsuki shrugged before meeting Rin's eyes. "Rin, Ari hasn't told you much, right?"

"By much, you mean…?" Rin raised an eyebrow.

"Home life and stuff?" Naia chimed in.

From what he could recollect, Ari hadn't mentioned anything about her home life to him. She kept that kind of thing to herself. "She's never mentioned it."

The girls exchanged another glance and Rin braced himself for what he was going to hear.

* * *

The scenery barely registered for him as Rin ran through Iwatobi, his thoughts racing and his breaths labored. After what Naia and Tsuki had told him, he wasn't just going to go back to his dorm at Samezuka. Not while she was out there alone.

 _"This day is a time that Ari is by herself," Tsuki explained in a soft voice. "Her family had a tragedy and…well, Ari never wanted us to see her in that vulnerable state."_

 _Vulnerable…_ His Ari was always smiling, always happy. Not once has she shown an ounce of pain on her face. Rin's heart was pounding hard from within his chest as he turned to the corner where the cemetery was. He rushed in—

" _She's at the cemetery. She spends most of the day there." Naia sighed. "If you want to see her, that's where she is."_

" _And you guys just let her be by herself? I thought you were her friends!" Rin stood up, surprised at his anger at Ari's two best friends, at how easily they would leave her to grieve alone._

" _We are her friends, Rin. But Ari had asked us to leave her in peace. We wouldn't disrespect her wishes." Tsuki met his crimson glare with a soft glance of her own. "You and her are dating now, so…maybe she can open her heart to you a little." –_

Rin could see a girl sitting in front of a tomb, her long hair covering her face. Glinting in the sunlight was a hairclip: A Sakura hair clip.

Slowly, he approached her, careful to not startle her. But she must have sensed he was there, since her friends would leave her be, as he moved to sit behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered.

"I didn't know how." Ari leaned back against him and Rin could hear the brittleness in her voice, the sadness she kept inside seeping into her words. "How much did Naia and Tsuki tell you…?"

"Enough." Rin tightened his hold on her, so much so that he could feel her trembling. He rested his chin onto her shoulder at the same time something fell on his hand. His eyes flickered to her to see tears falling down her cheek, her breaths coming out in shaky heaves. He squeezed her gently and closed his eyes, trying to get a sense of her pain. "I'm here, you know. You can cry as much as you want. I'm not going anywhere," he murmurs.

Ari's tears were falling more rapidly now, her sobbing escalating, as Rin opened his eyes to look at the names on the tombstone. There were two names etched onto the face of the stone: Sanada Yuuri and Kyoko.

After Ari's sobs died just a bit, Rin lifted his head and raised his hand to wipe at Ari's face. Silence hung between them as her heaving slowed to a calming rhythm. "Feel a bit lighter now that you got that out?" he asked. Ari nodded carefully, leaning into Rin, closing her eyes. "Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it…" she mumbled, turning in his arms, her head nestled in the crook of his neck. Rin threaded his fingers through her hair soothingly, his free hand rubbing her arm slowly.

"You don't have to apologize, Ari. But next time, don't worry me like that. I drove myself crazy looking for you," he chided, keeping his tone light instead of harsh. His Ari was in a fragile place; he couldn't expect her to bare her heart to him right away…

"My mama and sister are buried here."

His eyes widened slightly as he looked at Ari. Her gaze was directed to the tombstone, her eyes rimmed red from her tears. Her voice had grown softer, sadder. "Mama and I left papa because he was always hurting mama in front of me," she continued. "He would hit her and one day, I got tired of seeing him hurt mama and mama was tired of it too—especially because she got pregnant with my baby sister. One day, he was going to hit mama and I just grabbed him arm and screamed at him to stop…"

She paused and Rin could only hold his breath. Ari was always so happy that he could never have realized that she endured such a thing. He could only exhale when Ari continued. "Mama and I moved to Iwatobi after leaving papa. Mama doesn't have family out here, and it was just both of us while she was resting. All the stress was bad for Kyoko-chan—that's what we decided to name her after visiting the hospital—and mama, so I got a job to help with expenses, with the school's permission, of course.

"Everything was fine until the seventh month. Mama suddenly doubled over and I was scared. I wasn't sure what to do, so I called an ambulance. It seemed like forever before they arrived and took mama and me to the hospital." Ari's voice shook with emotion and Rin felt his own throat tightening. His own vision was blurring from unshed tears for her. She continued and Rin could only admire the strength it took for her to tell him this. "When we got there, the doctors told me that mama was in labor. I was stunned and asked how it was possible; it was too soon. But the doctors then told me that there were complications, that Kyoko-chan was in distress, and I begged them to save mama and Kyoko-chan. I waited and waited, but…they tried everything. Mama and Kyoko-chan didn't make it."

Rin held her tightly, his own tears falling after she finished her tale. "They're with you, Ari, in your spirit. It's okay to miss them."

"I know. But…" Her voice shook more. "I…I wanted us to be a family. I wanted to play with my little sister."

"I know, babe. I know."

"I miss them a lot."

Rin looked toward the tombstone before gently taking Ari's hand in his and gently pressing it against the tombstone, his hand over hers. His own tears still falling, he spoke gently. "Even though Ari has friends to take care of her, I wish I could have met you, Yuuri-san. You raised Ari to be a sweet, amazing girl. Even if she can sometimes be a handful."

Ari let out a soft laugh at his words and Rin smiled slightly before continuing to speak. "With your permission, Yuuri-san, I'll take good care of Ari. I'll come to see you and her sister with her. I'll make sure she never has to cry alone."

Ari looked at him. "R-Rin…!"

He met her gaze. "I know how it feels to lose a parent, Ari. But you dealt with stuff a little more than most. I want your mom to know that you won't cry alone and that I'll always be here for you."

Hazel eyes filled with tears as Ari threw herself at Rin, wrapping her arms around him and knocking him onto his back. He felt her trembling again as her voice whispered in his ear, shaking softly as he felt tears against his skin. "Thank you, Rin."

Rin raised a hand to the back of Ari's head. "Don't thank me. I'll be your support, so don't feel scared to come to me if you need to cry."

"I'll take you up on that."

"Promise?"

A short laugh escaped her in her moment of emotion. "I promise."


	5. Date Night

One of Rin's favorite times when having a date with Ari was when they just stayed in. She had brought her portable DVD player, some movies, and a few snacks and they had lay on Rin's bed. Rin always had his arm around his little bait, keeping her securely by his side as they watched some cheesy romance movie Ari had in the pile, one of each genre. Ari laid her head on his shoulder, biting onto a pocky stick. Rin smiled at her, leaning in to kiss her temple before turning his attention to the movie.

"The movie is turning you into a fluffball, isn't it?" Ari asked, looking up at Rin.

He grinned slightly. "I thought I was already a fluffball because of you."

She giggled softly, returning her attention to the movie, and Rin held her even closer to him. The movie was apparently about some star-crossed lovers and all they wanted was to be together. There have been trials and tribulations on both ends—girls trying to steal the hero's heart, the heroine's family trying to force her to marry someone else—before the two lovers agreed to run away together.

Rin heard a sniffle and turned his head toward Ari. Her eyes were shining with tears, her lip trembling, her face flushed. "Are you crying?" he asked.

"N-No," she mumbled, sniffling and wiping at her eyes as the credits rolled. "I'm not crying."

Chuckling, Rin reached to wipe at her tears. "And you call _me_ the crybaby."

"You cried during _The Notebook_ , don't you tease me!" Ari tried to pout at him.

"I knew that was going to come back to haunt me." Rin brought Ari to his chest, kissing the top of her head. "Go ahead and cry out how much you loved that fluffy plot."

"S-Shut up," she laughed in spite of herself, wiping her tears away. "I'm okay, Rin."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Good. As cute as you are, you shouldn't be crying."

A blush rose in her cheeks and Rin couldn't help but smirk. "Exactly what I mean," he said, stroking her cheek. Ari leaned into his touch, her hazel eyes narrowed only a bit at the swimmer. "I guess I can forgive you for calling me a crybaby," she mumbled.

"Glad to hear it." Rin leaned in to press a kiss to her other cheek.

"Rin, don't you want to see another movie?" she asked softly, turning her head slightly so that their lips were barely centimeters apart.

He grinned slightly. "I like this idea better."

"What idea-?!" Rin cut her off by pressing his lips against hers, keeping the kiss gentle and chaste. Her hands went to his wrists, gripping them, as Rin deepened the kiss and gently pressed closer to urge her down against the mattress. Ari's grip on his wrists slackened, her hands going to tangle in his hair as their kiss turned more heated.

When they parted for air, Rin nuzzled his face into Ari's neck before kissing and suckling on her skin. She gasps, gently pushing at his chest. "R-Rin!"

"Hm?" Rin continued his ministrations to her skin, his hands running down her sides. That's when Ari began to squirm. "Rin," she whined. "Rin, Sousuke can come back at any moment and catch us—mainly you—and never let it be lived down!"

When Ari said that, Rin had to pull away with a groan. "Damn, you're right. He still hasn't let me live it down that I'm totally whipped…"

"Whipped?" Ari raised an eyebrow, which earned another groan from Rin.

"I haven't told you about that."

"I've got time."

"…I think you love hearing my embarrassing moments."

"Guilty on all charges, now get to talking."


End file.
